Sen. Mary Landrieu's residency in Louisiana questioned

Sen. Mary Landrieu’s residency in Louisiana is being questioned by her GOP rivals following a report that she does not have a home of her own in the state she has represented since 1997.

The Washington Postreported that Landrieu, one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election, is registered to vote at the New Orleans house where her parents live. The story also says:

On a statement of candidacy Landrieu filed with the Federal Election Commission in January, she listed her Capitol Hill home as her address. But when qualifying for the ballot in Louisiana last week, she listed the family’s raised basement home here on South Prieur Street.

“I have lived at my home on Prieur Street most of my life, and I live there now, when not fulfilling my duties in Washington or serving constituents across the state,” Landrieu said in a statement to the Post, USA TODAY and other news outlets.

The New Orleans house is jointly owned by Landrieu’s mother, Verna, and a limited liability corporation in which the senator and her eight siblings have equal shares, the Post story says. The Post reviewed property and voting records and federal financial disclosures for its report.

Landrieu’s campaign noted that the senator and her husband, Frank Snellings, both file taxes and vote in Louisiana. The address referenced on the FEC document is also a mailing address.

Incumbent senators in tough campaigns have had to deal with residency questions. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana was defeated in 2012 after it was revealed that he owned a Virginia home but continued to use a Hoosier State address on his driver’s license and voter registration.

This year, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas won a challenge to his residency by a Tea Party rival after a New York Times story reported that he pays rent for a room in a Dodge City house owned by supporters and stays there when he is in the state. (Roberts owns a Kansas house but rents it out.)

Landrieu’s GOP challengers, Rep. Bill Cassidy and Rob Maness, both circulated the Post story to reporters and their supporters after it was published online Thursday. “Sen. Landrieu’s physical address is in Washington, D.C., but more importantly, she votes like a D.C. resident,” said John Cummins, communications director for Cassidy’s campaign.

Maness told the Post: “A U.S. senator shouldn’t be living with their parents.” He said he is considering a legal challenge.